Action related nav

Inside The Bills

The Bills have division rival Miami up ahead of them on the board at 13, but the bigger concern is the Jets, who sit right behind them at 20 in round one of the draft.

Most of the speculation surrounds whether or not the Jets would sit at 20, and whether or not they’d take a quarterback early knowing their contract negotiations with Ryan Fitzpatrick remain unresolved. They have a major bargaining chip in Muhammad Wilkerson, who was franchised, but is also at odds on a long-term agreement with the club.

NFL Network’s Mike Mayock offered his two cents on the possible options for the Jets if they stay at 20.

“It’s interesting because I think even if they sign Fitzpatrick, I don’t know how long a term they’d be talking about,” said Mayock. “He’s 34 years old. Is he the long-term answer for Maccagnan and Bowles? So I think they’ve got to be evaluating the heck out of Paxton Lynch, and I think Paxton Lynch makes a ton of sense there, especially if they had a veteran quarterback he could sit behind for one year. So I think Paxton Lynch has to be the first consideration.

“Are we going to try to be in the ballpark or in the game for that kid? That’s to me first and foremost. After that you start to look around at 20 and say, ‘Okay, is our edge linebacker need going to — are we going to get a better player at edge linebacker or an offensive lineman? (Left tackle) Ryan Clady has had a history of injury; (Nick) Mangold is 32; (Right tackle Breno) Giacomini is 31. That offensive line needs some attention.

“I think when you get to 20, you’re looking at your board, and you’re going, ‘Okay, what do I like here? Do I like Ryan Kelly? Do I like Taylor Decker? Who’s the top edge rusher? How do I feel about Shaq Lawson or Emmanuel Ogbah? Can I go in the second round and get an offensive tackle, or do I want to get a tackle in the first round and get an edge guy?’

“If so, I think there’s a big conversation here, and I think the corners, which I haven’t even mentioned, also kind of fit into that thing, and depending on how they feel about Dee Milliner and his future.”

For what it’s worth I have the Jets taking Lynch at 20th overall a pick after Buffalo in my mock draft, but it’s likely that Lynch comes off the board prior to that point. That would necessitate a trade up for the Jets, which could happen if there’s a team interested in paying big money to Wilkerson.